


Statistics

by simpleapricot



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Angst, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26042674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simpleapricot/pseuds/simpleapricot
Summary: Diana finds herself confronted with the harsh reality of numbers.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Comments: 16
Kudos: 129





	Statistics

For what might have been the first time in her life, Diana hated math.

No, not the kind she learned in Professor Badcock's Magical Numerology classes. She had spent many an hour hunched over a wrinkled tome searching again and again for some significance in what seemed to be a random string of numbers. Tedious as she found the task, it had never made her feel like this.

It had never made her feel empty inside.

Her gaze settled once again on the source of her misery. The simplicity taunted her. A number like any other, inconspicuous in the tome on her desk.

_"3.4%"_

How heartless. Those four characters stood between Diana and her dream. Yet, there they sat. The ink in which they were written had long ago seeped into the fibers, spread through them, and dried. No matter how hard she worked, how much she hoped, or how much she believed, they would not, _could not_ change. It hurt. Every time the number appeared in her head, it hurt, because Diana knew the truth behind it.

It was the chance Akko could love her, too.

* * *

For Diana, the most surprising thing about falling in love was how easy it was.

It had been just another study session. As always, Diana was diligently completing her reading, stopping only to cross-reference another book. Akko sat across the table, leaning back in her chair so far that it took every bone in Diana's body to suppress the urge to _make her sit up straight doesn't she know she could hurt herself_.

As if on cue, a grandiose yawn threw Akko off balance, her chair slipped out from under her, and she hit the ground with an undignified _thump._

"Akko!"

Diana's textbook tumbled to the floor as she raced around to the other side of the table.

"You know I told you not to do—" Her voice was cut off by a now-familiar exuberance. Akko was...laughing?

"Diana! I'm—ahaha—I'm stuck!" Akko had somehow managed to, in the process of falling, get herself hopelessly entangled in the chair.

"Are...are you alright?" Despite herself, Diana still managed to be taken aback by the girl's exuberance.

"I'm A-OK!" Akko flashed a bright smile and what would have been a dramatic thumbs-up had she not been unable to move her arm more than a few inches in either direction.

A bemused smile crept onto Diana's face, even though the adrenaline rush hadn't quite subsided. "Do you want some help?"

"Yes, please."

As she worked to help extricate her friend— _No, you have to pick your leg up! Other up!_ —Diana felt, in a word, content.

_I never want this to end_.

Just like that, Diana Cavendish was in love.

* * *

For those who knew Diana, her next steps would have been entirely unsurprising, especially given that those steps led her right back to the library. Alone this time, she had done what any reasonable girl faced with her first crush would do: research. In front of her sat the library's copy of _Interpersonal Relationships: Theory and Practice - 6th Edition_. The tome was opened to the section on "Romantic Attraction: A Guide for the Clinician."

"Although the quantification of attraction is by necessity an inexact science, some general data can be easily obtained by population sampling. Some statistics of note include that, in recent data, 1.1% and 2.2% of women and men—respectively—identify as gay or lesbian, and 2.2% and 1.4% identify as bisexual. As such, 3.4% of women and 3.5% of men identify as gay or bisexual. Reliable numbers are not available for nonbinary..."

Diana's once-buoyant heart sank in her chest. The implications of what she had read settled uneasily into her thoughts. With a mind honed by countless hours of study, it was easy—too easy—to parse the meaning of the words she had read.

That Akko could love her was quite unlikely. If she did not happen to fall in the 3.4%, that love, that contentment, that _happiness_ , would find itself dashed against the rocks. The finality of rejection inescapable, Diana's heart would be trapped in its pounding waves. Worst of all, it would be nobody's fault. A simple accident of birth—random chance—would be to blame. Yet, perhaps, it might not end up that way. Perhaps Diana's story would end differently...

Statistics are cruel. The knowledge they bring is not certain. In the cracks, the improbabilities, the off-chances, one can still find hope. A hope that rebels against reason. A hope that insists "this time will be different." Here, the true evil lies. Most of those who nurse their hopes will have them crushed, and the spark of belief will only serve to kindle the flames of loss.

* * *

Despite it all, Diana still hoped.

Perhaps she could drive home the significance of that _hated_ number in that _hated_ tome some other way. Logic had failed to do it, for that bit of belief still remained. She found, after some brief calculations, that _the number_ was actually quite similar to the chance of flipping a coin and getting heads five times in a row. Almost involuntarily, Diana staged an impromptu demonstration. Taking a coin from her pocket, she flipped it.

_Heads_.

Against her better judgment, Diana felt a small flicker of a smile at the result. She tossed the coin again.

_Heads_.

She allowed herself, for just a moment, to believe again. Maybe it _was_ possible? Once again, the coin spun through the air, tumbled to the ground, bounced, and rattled. Then, it was still.

_Tails_.

Ah. Yes. That's how it is. It was the most likely outcome, after all.

So why was Diana so upset? Why were tears still welling up in her eyes? Why wouldn't that pesky shard of hope just _go away?_ Why—

Diana's thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"Diana? Are you in there? Dianaaaa!"

With a touch of haste in her movements, Diana blotted away her tears, walked to the door, and, by a well-practiced technique, wiped the emotions from her face. She opened the door, to see the cause of her suffering: a brunette with fiery red eyes and an indomitable smile.

Akko marched into the room already babbling away energetically.

"What's up, Diana! I was having trouble with my Magical Numerology and I was hoping—"

Diana wanted to listen.

"—that section is super hard, so I thought I would—"

She really did want to listen.

"—do you know what's going on with the homework? Who am I kidding, of course—"

But she couldn't. Her gaze focused not on Akko, but what she was holding in her hand. It was a coin, and, without a care in the world, she started flipping it. All of Akko's words faded into the background. All Diana could see was that coin.

_Heads._

_Heads._

_Heads._

_Heads._

Diana caught a breath as Akko lazily tossed the coin again. It fell into her palm. The result went unheeded by its holder, but it was a light in the darkness to her observer.

_Heads._

Diana had forgotten, all along. This was _Akko_. The girl who made the impossible possible. The girl who had brought magic back. The girl who had brought _Diana_ back. What, to her, were a few numbers scribbled on a page? Akko would take the chance, throwing caution to the wind. Just this once, Diana would do the same.

"Akko, I need to tell you something."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I wondered where Diana's notorious penchant for book-learning might lead her in a relationship, so I thought of this. I hope you liked it.
> 
> Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


End file.
